Golf ball warmer



Jan. 29, 1957 E. A. COREY, JR 2,779,578

GOLF BALL WARMER Filed June 16, 1953 Fla. 2. I 7 FIG; 3.

INVENTOR EowARo A. Com-:gJR

PVZQPWM flMm/n v10 ATTORNEYS United States Patent GOLF BALL WARMER Edward A. Corey, Jr., St. Louis, Mo.

Application June 16, 1953, Serial No. 361,987

1 Claim. (Cl. 263-5) This invention relates to warming devices, and more particularly to an improved warming receptacle for a golf ball, said receptacle being adapted to be attached to a golf bag to be carried by a player for maintaining a golf ball in a warm condition, whereby the ball is more resilient than it would be if it were not so maintained.

A main object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved golf ball warming device which is simple in construction, which is compact in size and which is adapted to be conveniently carried by a player.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved golf ball warming device which is inexpensive to manufacture, which is sturdy in construction, and which is arranged so that it may be readily refilled with hot liquid whenever necessary.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and claims, and from the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a vertical cross sectional view taken through an improved golf ball warmer constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a top view, somewhat reduced in size, of the golf ball warmer illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the golf ball warmer of Figures 1 and 2.

Referring to the drawings, the golf ball warming device is designated generally at 11 and comprises a re ceptacle formed with an inner chamber 12, said inner chamber being defined by the cylindrical wall 13 which terminates in the hemispherical bottom wall 14, the wall 13 and bottom wall 14 being shaped to receive a golf ball 15 in the manner illustrated in Figure 1. As shown in Figure 1, the golf ball 15 is seated so that it is in intimate contact with the hemispherical bottom wall 14 and occupies the major portion of the chamber 12. Designated at 16 is a closure plug, such as a cork or the like, which is detachably secured in the top of the inner chamber 12, as being frictionally engaged with the rim 17 shown in Figure 1.

A thickened receptacle 11 is provided with the an nular top wall 13, the rim 17 being formed centrally of said top wall. The receptacle is formed with a second chamber 19 outwardly adjacent the inner chamber 12 and substantially coextensive therewith, said second chamber being adapted to receive hot water or similar liquid, shown at 24), and being provided with the closure plug 21 removably secured in the top wall 18 adjacent the main closure plug 16. The receptacle 11 is formed outwardly adjacent the second chamber 19 with a pair of air chambers 22 and 23, said air chambers being substantially coextensive with the liquid-containing chamber 19, as shown in Figure l, and being sealed, as illustrated. The chambers 22 and 23 are filled with air and serve as insulating means for retarding transmission of heat from the hot liquid 20 to the atmosphere.

Describing the construction of the device in other terms, it will be noted that the device comprises a hat, circular top wall, integral with a plurality of depending, cylindrical side walls spaced from one another in concentric relationship, each side wall merging at its lower end into a hemispherical bottom wall portion. Each hemispherical portion is formed with aradius equal to that of the side wall with which it is integral, the several hemispherical portions being concentrically related. The arrangement is such that a maximum amount of the surface of the golf ball, fully one half of its area, is in contact with the wall of the innermost or center chamber. The arrangement further produces a result wherein the liquid chamber is constant in respect to its transverse dimension, that is, the difference between the inner and outer walls thereof, at every point along its length and circumference, thus to cause a completely uniform application of heat to the globularly shaped surface contacting the hemispherical bottom Wall portion of the innermost chamber. Further, a completely uniform insulating action is achieved by the arrangement, with all these results deriving from the use of the concentric cylindrical and hemispherical Wall portions, all integrally attached to a common top wall.

Designated at 24 is a spring clip which is secured to the outer Wall of the receptacle 11, preferably adjacent the top wall 18 thereof, as shown in Figure l, said spring clip being shaped so that the receptacle may be supported on the rim of a golf bag. Thus, the spring clip 24 is engaged on the rim of the golf bag so that the receptacle may be carried by the player along with the bag. Alternatively, the receptacle may be carried in the golf ball container of the golf bag if desired.

In using the device, the chamber 1.9 is filled with hot water and sealed by means of the cork or plug 21. The golf ball 15 is carried in the inner chamber 12 and is kept warm by its adjacency to the hot Water 2%. When it is desired to use the ball, the plug 16 is removed and the ball taken out, another ball being inserted in the chamber 12 so that it may be warmed in the same manner as the previous ball, the cork or plug 16 being then replaced. Thus, each time a ball is switched, the player has available a warmed ball which has maximum resiliency, whereby maximum distance may be obtained for each drive.

As will be noted from Figure I, plug 16 when engaged in its associated opening extends into the inner golf-ball-receiving chamber a distance such that the inner end of the plug will be spaced from the center point of the bottom wall 14 a distance approximately equal to the diameter of the innermost side wall 13. The inner end surface of the plug is thus disposed as an abutment effective to hold the golf ball snugly seated against the bottom wall 14. This characteristic is obtained due to the fact that the diameter of the side wall 13 is equal to that of a golf ball of conventional size, and therefore the golf ball will be disposed over substantially the entire distance between said center point of bottom wall 14 and the inner end surface of plug 16. The advantage of the arrangement is that should the device be tilted.

or even inverted, the golf ball will not roll out of engagement with the bottom wall 14 except perhaps to a very minor, inconsequential extent and will thus be kept over fully half its area close to the warmed wall of the inner chamber even when the device is tilted to a horizontal position or fully inverted, as might be the case if it is loose within a pocket of a golf bag or even clipped to a golf bag, it being the practice in many instances to lay the bag horizontally on the ground while a stroke is being made.

While a specific embodiment of an improved golf ball warming device has been disclosed in the foregoing description, it will be understood that various modifications within the spirit of the invention may occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is intended that no limitation be placed on the invention except as defined by the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A golf ball warmer comprising a receptacle including a circular, flat top wall, a series of cylindrical side walls at least three in number and bearing a concentric relationship to the top wall and to one another, said side wall-s being integral at one end with and depending from said top wall, each side wall merging at its other end into a hemispherical bottom wall portion having a radius equal to that of the side wall on which it is formed, the several bottom wall portions having a common center, the innermost side wall defining an inner chamber at the center of the receptacle for receiving a golf ball, the top wall having a circular opening at the upper end of said chamber formed to a diameter equal to that of said innermost side wall, the side wall adjacent the innermost wall cooperating with the innermost wall in defining therebetween a chamber for receiving a hot liquid, the top wall having a filler opening formed therein, said filler opening being located adjacent the center opening and being spaced inwardly a substantial distance from the periphery of the top wall, the'outcrmost wall cooperating with the wall adjacent thereto in defining therebetween a hermetically sealed air chamber surrounding the liquid chamber, and plugs removably engaged in the respective openings, the plug engaged in the first named opening extending into the inner chamber a distance such that said plug at its inner end will be spaced from the center point of the bottom wall of the inner chamber a distance approximately equal to the diameter of the innermost side wall, thus to be disposed as an abutment effective to hold the ball snugly seated against said bottom wall of the inner chamber.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 481,759 Hinderer Aug. 30, 1892 1,229,739 Furry June 12, 1917 1,956,356 Justheim Apr. 24, 1934 2,181,821 Seals Nov. 28, 1939 2,500,658 Breese et a1 Mar. 14, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 28,081 Norway July 16, 1917 310,152 Italy July 31, 1933 

